xviii, 333, 16 pages ; 21 cm

Discusses the importance of humans' connection to water and how people are drawn to being in, on, or around oceans, rivers, and lakes and points to recent findings in neuroscience that indicate that proximity to water can improve mood, performance, health, and success

There's something about water that attracts and fascinates us. No wonder: it's the most omnipresent substance on Earth and, along with air, the primary ingredient for supporting life. From afar, our planet looks like a blue marble; we ourselves are three-quarters H₂O. We know instinctively that being near water makes us healthier and happier, reduces stress, and brings us peace. But why? And what might the answer tell us about how we should be living our lives? Now, we can finally answer these questions--and those answers are life-changing. As Wallace Nichols reveals here, we are at the forefront of a wave of neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and medical research that illuminates the physiological and brain processes that underlie our transformative connection to water. Drawing on this breakthrough science, and on compelling personal stories from athletes, scientists, veterans, and artists, Nichols shows how proximity to water can: improve performance in a wide range of fields; increase calm and diminish anxiety much better than medication; amplify creativity--artistic and otherwise; increase generosity and compassion; increase professional success; improve our overall health and well-being; and reinforce our connection to the natural world--and one another--

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-321) and index

Includes Reading group guide

"Originally published in hardcover by Little, Brown and Company, July 2014"--Title page verso

Why do we love water so much? -- Water and the brain : neuroscience and blue mind -- The water premium -- The senses, the body, and "big blue" -- Blue mind at work and play -- Red mind, gray mind, blue mind : the health benefits of water -- Blue unified : connection and water -- Only connect -- A million blue marbles

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